


Lost Heroes

by csulliven



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Batwoman (TV 2019), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Family Secrets, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Secrets, cannon character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23619646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csulliven/pseuds/csulliven
Summary: Bruce left Gotham three years ago. No one knows why. No one other than his family who are spread across the world. Tim is running Wayne Enterprises from Japan, Jason is in Central America taking down drug lords, Bruce retired the cowl, and Dick moved to Bludhaven permanently. It worked for three years, but then vigilantes returned to Gotham, and Alice started reigning down terror. Dick Grayson is transferred to the GCPD to help with the under-staffing and the crazies. He swore he was done with team ups. That he worked alone now, but destiny has other plans. And it won't stop with Dick.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Amy Rohrbach, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Kate Kane
Comments: 36
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

Dick was determined not to get involved with Gotham. He heard of Batwoman and knew about Alice, but he had a different city to take care of. Bruce would deal with it if he wanted to. It was not Dick’s job. After what happened he hasn’t talked to Bruce in years, and last time he had spoken with any of his brothers it ended with a fight. Gotham was left to its citizens and everyone went their own ways. It wasn’t his job to deal with the new Batwoman. It wasn’t his job to deal with any of the new heros showing up everywhere. Not anymore. He knows he’s more violent during his night job, but the crime rate has lowered significantly where all he deals with anymore are petty criminals. That was fine. He had his run with the crazies, that wasn’t him anymore.

Working at the Bludhaven police department used to keep him on his toes. He never knew who to trust, or if one of his coworkers was going to shoot him. Amy Rouhrbach became police captain, and started making a difference. It was slow working, but working alongside Nightwing they were able to get the worst off of the police force. Anyone else was too scared and went straight on their own. The lack of organized crime in the city also helped. Bludhaven was the cleanest it had ever been. It was a constant struggle however. With Gotham as it’s neighbor. Right after Batman disappeared Gotham went down the drain. No one was willing to pick up the cowl. Crows Security came to power, but it didn’t stop crime. The crime shifted. It was no longer crazies on the street, but the dirt ran deeper. It was difficult to see, and even more difficult to prove. Gotham had taken everything from Dick, so he didn’t care if it burned. It wasn’t his problem. 

"Dick can I see you in my office?” He glances up seeing Amy waving him over. He abandons the paperwork on his desk getting frustrated with it anyways. The blinds to the office are closed and he knows this is serious. She only closes the blinds when a case is going to involve his night job as well. He closes the door before sitting in a chair across from Amy. 

“What can I do for you?” Her lips are pursed, and she’s tense. It starts to set him on edge.

“You know about Alice over in Gotham, correct?” He nods already not liking where this is going. “The GCPD are sorely understaffed. It hasn’t been a problem with the Crows running security, but there are rumors they’re dirty,” Dick leans back crossing his arms. He has a feeling he knows where this conversation is going and does not like it.

“We’ve known the crows are dirty. Why is it just becoming a problem now?” The crows have been rumored to be dirty for years. Even when they were a startup company while Batman was still around. Dick wasn’t sure how high up the chain it went, and how much of it was dirty members or ignorant decisions. 

“Jacob Kane was arrested for murdering his wife. I did some digging, and his step-daughter claims it was Alice. Whether he is guilty or not, him being arrested is putting more strain on the police department. They’re asking for extra hands, but with Gotham’s reputation no one wants to go,” She doesn’t say it, but he knows what she’s implying. 

“You want me to go back,” He sees the sympathy in her eyes, and it makes him furious and resigned.

“You were with them for two years, and you have experience dealing with vigilanties from all angles. Most of the force that was there during Batman’s time isn’t there anymore. There are a bunch of people from out of state, and new recruits that don’t know what to make of Batwoman. Have never dealt with crazies like Alice. I trust you more than any other officer in this department. I know you won’t go dirty under stress. That’s why I’m choosing you,” He knows she’s right, but the idea of going back almost makes him nauseous. 

“You know why I left. Why I don’t go back,” His voice is barely a whisper. He’s going back. He already knows it. Despite everything he’s going back to Gotham. 

“I know,” Her voice is soft because she does know. She allowed him to transfer back even though he was only at GCPD for two years. They worked side by side to make Bludhaven what it is. She knows better than anyone why he doesn’t want to go back. He forces a smile.

“You sure you can last that long without me?” It doesn’t lighten the mood, but she does give him a small smile. 

“It’s not permanent, just until things settle down,” He nods. It’ll only be for a few months. A year at the most. He thinks about moving into the penthouse, but there are too many memories there. He’ll need to find an apartment. He doesn’t want to leave his old one behind, but he can’t afford rent on both. It’ll be fine. He’ll figure it out. 

“When does it start?” Her lips purse again, but he’s already resigned to his fate.

“As soon as you can get over there,” He doesn’t like anything about this. He hates the Bat and has to drop everything because he’s needed in Gotham. It’s not fair, but it’s never been fair. He doesn’t protest so Amy knows he is agreeing. “I’ll have my boys help you move. Especially since you don’t have a car,” He hasn’t needed one. It’s just him, and he had no intention of going anywhere for a long while. 

“Thanks,” She smiles before standing prompting him to do the same. 

“Thank you,” She starts moving towards the door. “And to show my appreciation as soon as you finish the paperwork on your desk you can have the rest of the day off. You’re going to need it,” He wants to protest, but she’s shooing him out of the office before he has a chance to do anything. He sighs moving over to his desk. He has a long week ahead of him.


	2. Chapter 2

Dick spends the rest of the evening picking up boxes to pack all of his stuff. He’s surprised at how much he has picked up in the last three years. Little trinkets and movies that he was never able to collect before now. His closest is even worse. He didn’t realize how many clothes he’s gotten. Knowing he’s not going to be able to move all of his stuff he starts a giveaway box. There’s plenty of local shelters that could use the extra clothes. When he gets done for the night his apartment is a mess. Half full boxes litter the hallway and nothing is in its proper place. He was done with packing for the day however, and was going to leave it to deal with tomorrow. He was off all day tomorrow, so that will give him plenty of time to wallow in the fact he has to move. He turns the tv on to some comedy while he ate dinner trying to distract himself. It didn’t work. A list of everything he had to do before moving was running through his head causing him to become more and more frustrated.

He glances at the clock as he puts away his dishes from dinner. It’s earlier than he would normally go out as Nightwing, but he needed the fresh air and running across rooftops was a great stress reliever. He debated on whether to go out so early, but he wasn’t going to get to run across the rooftops for months, so he might as well take advantage of it. He’s glad he does too. By the time he makes it back to his apartment he’s already feeling much better and more prepared to face the change. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had to start going into the GCPD on Monday, even if he wasn’t finished moving. Collapsing on his bed he decides to catch a few hours before his weekend starts. 

He wakes up the next morning to his phone ringing. He squints at the screen unable to read the name as he answers the call.

“Hello?” He starts to sit up trying to blink sleep out of his eyes.

“Dick? Did you just wake up?” He recognizes the caller. 

“Amy, why are you calling so early?” Slowly he makes his way out of his bedroom almost tripping over the boxes before making it to the kitchen.

“It’s not early,” 

“It is for my day off,” He can hear her eyes roll over the phone. 

“Anyways, I was calling to ask if you needed any help packing, and when you wanted my boys to come over to help you move. Emma would love to see you again, and I was thinking I could turn it into a family thing,” It took him a second to catch on, and by the time he did she was talking again, “I’ll bring pizza,” He smiles before looking at the meager contents of his fridge.

“I think that would be a good idea. It’ll be good to see Justin and Emma. It’s been awhile,” 

“They did grow too old to need a babysitter anymore,” When Amy was first Captain she was pulling a lot of extra long hours, and her husband, Jim, couldn’t be with the kids during the day. He babysat them for several years especially when he was still trying to get into Amy’s good graces. When he moved back to Bludhaven, and she heard what happened, she always invited him over for dinner and different events. He would have declined, but he was told in no uncertain terms that he was not allowed to be a recluse. It had been a while since they had done anything like that. 

“I think I’ll be done by Sunday afternoon. If you want to come over for lunch, then we can load everything up and head to Gotham. I don’t plan on bringing any of the furniture, so it’ll just be the boxes,” 

“We’ll see about that, but I’ll let them know. Where will we be taking it?” Dick doesn’t want to, but until he can find a more permanent solution it’s his only option.

“I have somewhere to store everything until I can find an apartment,” She makes a disapproving hum over the line, “I’m not going to be homeless, if that’s what you’re worried about,” 

“There’s always the police issued apartment until you get on your feet,” Dick’s answer is immediate. He’s seen and been inside those apartments multiple times over the years. They are not somewhere he wants to stay for any amount of time. 

“No. No need for that. I’ll rent a motel, or figure something out,” She chuckles, but doesn’t argue. 

“As long as you have a place,” There’s a pause and then she’s speaking again, “Look, I have to go, but let me know if you need anything, and I’ll see you Sunday,” He says goodbye and hangs up.

Sunday comes faster than he wants it too. He goes out early as Nightwing again to get away from how empty his apartment feels. There’s a few trinkets left, and his gear isn’t packed yet, but he’s putting it off. He doesn’t want to risk putting on the mask in Gotham and drawing unwanted attention. Falling off the grid almost entirely provided him the peace he needed after everything fell apart. He wasn’t ready to appear back on it yet. He is outside loading all of his nightwing gear into secret compartments on his bike when a truck pulls up. Amy and her entire family get out and he walks over to greet them. He can smell the pizza and his stomach growls. Before he can make it all the way he has a thirteen year old in his arms hugging him tightly. 

“Hey Emma, how are you doing?” She lets go looking up at him smiling brightly. 

“Great. School has been awesome and we’re having a book fair next week. I’ve been waiting for it all semester. It’s the only place where I can get super cool erasers,” She bounces back over to her parents before stating she is starving and grabbing the pizza boxes. Taking off for the stairs, Amy calls after her not to eat until everyone makes it up there. Dick’s not sure if she heard or not. He makes his way over shaking Jim’s hand in greeting and turning to Justin.

“Thanks for helping today,” Justin smiles and shrugs. At fifteen he’s taller than Dick, taking after his dad. It isn’t by much, but it always makes Dick feel old, because he remembers when Justin only came up to his chest. “I have a box of clothes I’m getting rid of if you want to look through them beforehand,” His face brightens at that, though Amy gives him a scowl. Most of the clothes in the box are ones he’s had for years, and never wore. Bruce got him most of them, and he never got rid of them out of respect. He hasn’t talked to Bruce in three years and doesn’t expect to anytime soon, so he doesn’t feel bad about giving them away. 

“None of the tank tops,” Dick grins at Amy. Jason had gotten them as a joke, and Dick started training in them. Damian always insulted him when he wore them, and when Justin wanted some after hanging out with Dick, Amy complained as well. 

“I don’t think I put any in the box. I am hungry, and I don’t think Emma will wait very long before digging in,” They start making their way up the stairs. 

“She better, or she will be doing dishes for the next week,” Dick grins at Justin.

“Maybe we should wait. I’m sure you would like that,” Justin grins before slowing down significantly. Dick joins him, but Amy and Jim just keep walking. Jim turns back looking at the two of them.

“You move that slow, we'll eat all the pizza before you even get there,” Dick turns back to Justin schooling his features into something more serious.

“I know you’re doing it for a just cause, but I want pizza,” With that he takes off running up the stairs jumping part of the railing to get ahead of Amy and Jim who shake their head and move aside, so Justin can get through. “Last one in is a stinky egg,” Justin is running, but then so is Amy and Jim. Dick makes it to the top first before turning around and seeing where his competition is. Justin doesn’t even pause before heading into the apartment. “Plates are in the cabinet by the fridge,” They’re paper plates cause he’s already packed his dishes. Amy and Jim are side by side gently pushing each other as they make their way through the door, but not before Amy turns back to Dick. 

“Guess you’re the stinky egg,” He quickly follows them into the apartment.

“No, I made it up first. You’re the stinky egg,” Jim’s grinning at him. 

“It was the last one into the apartment,” He pouts causing Emma to giggle. 

“I just won’t be nice next time,” They all grab a paper plate before digging in. It was a nice lunch, and he got to catch up with everything that was happening. He missed having gatherings like this. Missed his brothers. 

There wasn’t a lot to take down the stairs, and between the four of them it only took about four hours. He was doing one last look around the apartment with Amy before they left.

“Are you sure you don’t want this end table. It’s a nice end table,” He glances at the beat up piece of wood Amy was referring to. 

“I think I’m okay,” She frowns.

“Are you sure you want to leave the furniture? Some of it’s nice,” He nods. She was exaggerating when she said it was nice. The furniture was mediocre at best and beat up at worst. He never invested in nice furniture because he’s had too many pieces ruined because of fights or bloodstains. Giving one last look he turns to her.

“Let’s go. Otherwise you might just try to transport every dust spect in this apartment,” She shoots him a glare, and he just laughs before heading out the door. They meet everyone downstairs, Emma and Justin already in the truck. 

“I’ll follow you there? I need to grab my bike,” Jim shakes his head. 

“I don’t know where I’m going. I’ll need you to lead,” At this Amy shakes her head.

“We won’t be able to follow if he leads. He is a crazy driver,” Dick doesn’t even try to deny it, just grins causing Jim to laugh. “I’ll lead, we’re going where you lived before right?” He nods.

“The apartment in Gotham. There’s a garage, and an elevator around the back. I’ll show you once we get there,” He was not looking forward to going back.

“It’s not an apartment, but okay,” She gets in the truck and starts out of the parking lot. He takes one last look at his home for the last three year, before following after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the positive reactions to this story. I have been so excited to post this chapter. I have a good portion written ahead, but once school starts back up I won't have as much free time, so I'm keeping to this schedule so you will consistently get updates. I would love to hear what you think, and where you think we're going.


	3. Chapter 3

He follows Amy into Gotham. The penthouse wasn’t as far as the manor would be, so the drive wasn’t bad. Once they got closer to the penthouse, Dick passed her and led her to the garage. It was below the building for saving space and security reasons. Difficult to see if you didn’t know what to look for. He typed in the code and the gate lifted allowing him and Amy to pass through. The garage itself wasn’t that big because there were very few permanent members, and even fewer that parked their cars in it.

There was an elevator that went straight up to the penthouse. It was large enough to fit a car and it was used for that when Bruce used to use the space for parties. Dick has only used it to get to the bunker below. It’s right across from Wayne Enterprise which Tim always took advantage of when Dick and Damian were living there. The elevator was also great for transporting boxes up to the penthouse so multiple trips didn’t have to be made. Dick parkes his bike, and gets off walking over as Amy rolled the window down. 

“Where do you want me to go?” He could see Emma and Justin in the back on their phones. He pointed to the elevator entrance across the lot away from the personal elevator he parked near.

“That’s where we’ll be unloading everything. It’ll all fit in the elevator, and take it directly up,” She nodded before turning to the back.

“Emma scoot over so Dick can get in,” Emma unbuckled and moved to the middle seat, and Dick got in beside her. They drove across the lot before Dick got out to help guide Amy in backing up. Once she was parked he went over to the panel that granted access into the elevator. He had to dig his wallet out to find his access card. He scanned it prompting the elevator to open. Jim was out of the car and lowering the tailgate when he saw the elevator.

“This is not what I was expecting,” Dick shrugged unsure what to say. “At least it will be easier to get everything up,” He grabbed a box of the bed and started heading towards the elevator.  
“Anywhere?” Dick nods starting to move himself.

“Yah, but leave a pathway to the other side, otherwise we’ll be stuck behind everything,” Jim sets a box down, and Dick grabs one before doing the same. It doesn’t take long before everything is unloaded, the truck was parked, and they were headed up. Dick was being very careful to control his breathing. He did not like being back here, but it would save him cash from renting a storage container. Cash he needed with having to move so sudden. Having Amy and her family surrounding him helped a lot. It didn’t feel so empty that way. The elevator doors opened and he heard Emma wow. She immediately rushed in and was looking around. There were sheets over everything, but that didn’t stop her. Justin had a similar sense of awe as he looked around with a little more reservation. Dick saw him cross the main living area and stop at the floor length windows. Dick followed him looking over the city. Whenever he got the chance he would watch the sunrise with Damian standing at this window. He would always scoff at Dick’s sentimentality over it, but would still do it with him. 

He was broken from his stupor when Emma grabbed his arm dragging him over to her parents. She had a very solemn look on her face as she faced her parents not letting go of Dick’s arm. 

“I’m sorry, but I am now living with Dick. You have been great parents, and it’s been a good run,” Amy raises her eyebrows at her daughter while smirking.

“Oh Amy we will miss you, and I’m sure all of your friends at school will be terribly sad at your departure,” That caused Emma to frown before her face lights up again. 

“I’ll spend weekends here, and you can pick me up on Sunday nights so I can go to school,” Dick just to be a troublemaker added on. 

“I’ll make sure she does her homework,” He smiles brightly and Jim laughs while Amy looks unimpressed.

“Hilarious, now both of you start grabbing stuff. If you get it done fast enough we might have time to grab ice cream,” Emma started grabbing boxes calling over her shoulder to Justin.

“Come on, help. I want ice cream,” Justin rolled his eyes, but Dick watched him speed up a little. Dick laughed before joining him and grabbing some boxes of his own. They move everything into the living room behind the couch. He’ll be able to grab the boxes he wants with him whenever he finds a place, and leave the others until he moves back to Bludhaven. As soon as the last box is put down Emma is turning to her mom asking for ice cream.

“You’ll have to ask Dick where the best ice cream places are. He is from Gotham after all,” Dick starts running through every ice cream parlor in Gotham and then starts thinking of the ones closest to the penthouse. He knows the one. 

“We’ll have to go to Jeni’s Ice Cream. I heard that’s where Robin got his ice cream,” They had been on patrol when Dick was about ten, and he was able to talk Bruce into letting him get ice cream. He went into Jeni’s, but what he didn’t know is that he had saved her life a few weeks before from being mugged. She gave him free ice cream. He made sure to take every Robin at least once. Emma’s and Justin’s eyes became a little stary. Amy was giving him a look, but even Jim looked interested. “It’s also close enough that we can walk. Otherwise parking is horrendous,” 

Emma starts dragging him over to the elevator they rode up in, but Dick starts redirecting her to the one that will take them to the lobby and onto the street. They all pile into the elevator, and head down to the lobby.

“So you won’t be staying here?” He turns to Jim and shakes his head. “If you don’t mind my asking why not?” Dick shrugs and his eyes drift. 

“It’s too big for just me. When I was living here a while back it wasn’t just me,” Jim nods and looks like he wants to say more but doesn’t. Dick is grateful. They make it into the lobby and are on their way out the door when he sees Holland, the lobby attendant. It surprises him to see the man, even though there’s no reason the man would have left. Holland recognizes him as well, and comes over smiling. 

“Richard it’s good to see you,” He stops to greet the man. 

“Good to see you too Holland. How’s the family?” Holland’s grin takes over his entire face.

“Amazing, we had another one. Her name is Nina and she turns a year old in a month,” Dick smiles, happy for him.

“We are actually headed out to get ice cream,” Holland backs up a step and holds his hands up.

“Well, I won’t stop you from that. Should I be expecting anyone else?” He shakes his head.

“No, and I’m just dropping some stuff off. Since it’s just me I’m going to try to find something closer to the department,” Holland nods his head.

“Well if you need recommendations, stop by. Quite a few new apartment complexes have started up since you were last here,” Dick grins and waves as he guides everyone out the lobby. 

“Okay, I don’t know where I’m going,” Amy is looking around trying to find a street sign. 

“Follow me,” Dick starts walking down the street,” It’s already getting dark outside, so everyone sticks close together. He’s sure Amy and Jim are carrying, and he won’t let anything happen to any of them. He knows exactly where he is, but it still feels weird being on the ground rather than on the rooftops, or in the air. While the walk isn’t long Emma trades places with her mom, and Amy is walking beside him. 

“How are you holding up,” He lets out a tired sigh, but still grins.

“I’m okay. It’s weird to be back. Especially alone,” She nods waiting a few seconds before responding. 

“So Jeni’s?” That brings a real smile to his face.

“It was a tradition. Even when I wasn’t getting along with Bruce I would bring them there. We would sit on the roof and eat it generally at the end of patrol. I went there a lot with Dami. He had never had ice cream before, and as his big brother I had to change that. It was months before he would ask me if we could get ice cream,” His smile dims into something more sad. Amy squeezes his bicep. They walk in silence for a few more seconds before Dick stops in front of a brightly lit shop. He stops when he sees the decorations that litter the shop. Different Robins cover different parts of the store. Dick can do nothing but stand there in shock and he hears Amy laughing beside him. Everyone else comes up beside them looking at the shop.

“Well, I think that rumor about Robin has some weight,” They don’t stand in front very long before Emma and Justin are in the shop looking at all the different flavors. He follows them in.

They enjoy their ice cream before heading back. Dick takes them directly to the garage and to their truck. He was planning on finding a motel for the night, but it was late enough that he wasn’t going to bother. They said their goodbyes and Amy gave him a hug.

“Don’t be a stranger, and let me know if you need anything,” He nods smiling and waves goodbye as they get in the truck and head out. He heads up to the penthouse unsure what to do with himself. He sets an alarm for tomorrow before settling down on the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was not on having a family gathering with Amy, but her family wormed their way into my heart, and now I'm in love, so expect more of them. This was a fun chapter to write, and I hope it put a smile on ya'lls face like it did mine. Let me know what you think, and if you like the family. There will be Batfam in this, but I have to get everything established, and I don't want it to seem rushed.


	4. Chapter 4

He’s surprised he fell asleep when he wakes to the alarm the next morning. For a second he expects to see Damian coming into the room telling him he should already be up, but then his eyes catch sight of the sheets. Damian won’t be coming to greet him. No one will. He does need to send a message to Tim and Jason on where he is. Doesn’t want them accidentally stopping by his apartment only to scare strangers, even if they haven’t in over a year. Could cause a lot of difficulties for all of them. He glances at the time before reluctantly getting up. He wants coffee and food, but he doesn’t have either of those things right now. If he wants to get something he has to leave soon. Otherwise he’s stuck with the station dirt that claims it’s coffee. 

His work suit is partially wrinkled, and Alfred would be ashamed, but it’s either iron it or get coffee. He wasn’t skipping coffee. When he makes it to the station he realizes how right Amy was. The department was woefully understaffed, and he recognized less than half of them. He doubted any of them had ever dealt with the type of crime Gotham is known for. It didn’t help that Crows security protected the rich pulling funding away from the department. He checked in with the commissioner, already missing Gordon.

The day consisted of a lot of reading. He was given Alice’s file as well as the police report from Jacob Kane’s arrest. Reading through it reminded him of long hours in the batcave learning everything he could about the rogues that escaped. By the time he finally got off he had made it through all of the files and was going back over them. He was missing something about this. Everyone wanted to write Alice off as crazy, but Dick had seen calculated crazy, personal crazy, and true crazy. This was personal, otherwise Mary would not have been left alive. He needed to talk to both of them. Kane would probably not talk, but Mary might. She seemed like a sweet girl. Probably was telling anyone who would listen what happened. It would be a good starting place, but he would follow that lead tomorrow. This evening he was going to see Luke. Check up on how things have been going. He also needed to put his Nightwing gear in the bunker, but he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. He’ll check in, and put his stuff back later. 

Wayne enterprises is exactly how he remembers it. He never spent a lot of time in the building unless he was getting Bruce or Tim. He always hated the business side of things no matter how many times Bruce tried to teach him, so he avoided the place if he could. He made his way to the security room, surprised Luke wasn’t in there. That used to always be where he spent his time. He wandered down the hall to Bruce’s office, not that he ever spent much time in it. He found Luke sitting behind the desk looking at a computer. He knocks on the door frame prompting Luke to look up, and promptly jump out of the chair. 

“Dick?” He smiles moving into the room. Luke glances behind him like he’s expecting the rest of the crew to be following Dick.

“It’s just me. How have you been?” He seems to calm down and starts grinning back, though the surprised look doesn’t disappear. 

“I’m good, well other than Alice running around, but that’s not a problem. What are you doing here?” Dick slowly makes his way around the room. Luke was hiding something, and Dick was trying to decide whether he wanted to find out. 

“I was transferred to the GCPD to help with Alice since Jacob Kane was arrested. A lot of the force doesn’t know how to handle the crazies anymore. The force is under prepared and understaffed, and I don’t trust Crows security,” Luke nods moving back to his computer. Rather than sitting down, he grabs it moving across the desk. 

“Do you plan on going out?” Dick shakes his head moving along the bookcase. It doesn’t look like anything has been disturbed, but it’s also not as dusty as he was expecting. 

“No, I don’t want to attract that kind of attention. I heard about Oliver Queen being arrested, and with Batwoman around. I’m not interest in working with others,” Luke is messing with his computer again. 

“So just you huh?” He starts heading to the desk. It’s obvious it’s being used on a regular basis.

“Yah, I doubt any of the others want to step foot in Gotham. I didn’t either, but circumstances dictated otherwise,” He starts opening drawers finding folders and papers inside. It should be empty. “Why are you in here? Don’t you normally hang out in the security room?” Luke stands up and starts pacing the room. That only confirms to Dick that he’s hiding something. As Luke gives excuses about the security room being tight and stuffy Dick starts going through the papers in the desk. It’s paperwork for a bar and renovations being done. As he keeps digging he sees more plans for apartment renovations. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” He looks up at the new voice. A woman storms in. He stops leaning over the paperwork, but doesn’t step away from the desk.

“Dick Grayson, and you are?” She stops and her eyebrows furrow. 

“Kate Kane. This is my office. I’ll only ask this one more time. What are you doing here?” Before Dick can say anything Luke is stepping between him and Kate.

“Kate, this is Dick Grayson,” His name is stressed as Luke tries to get the woman to understand. “Bruce’s oldest son,” That gives her pause and she gives Dick an appraising look. Now that tensions are a little less immediately dangerous Luke turns back to Dick.

“Dick, this is Kate Kane, Bruce’s cousin,” Jacob’s daughter. Interesting. He smiles brightly laying on that charm the papers always said he had.

“Nice to meet you. I assume you’re the one that’s taken over the office?” She walks around to the other side of the desk sorting through the papers he was just looking through. He doesn’t move, just watches her. She seems frustrated, but he’s not sure if it’s at him or at the world in general. 

“Yah, I’m starting a real estate firm. Bruce wasn’t using it so I figured he wouldn’t mind,” She paused for a second before continuing. “I used to come up here all the time. Especially after my dad got remarried,” She put the papers back in the desk before turning to face him. Dick nods before starting to move towards the door. 

“I wish you good luck,” He turns to Luke, “Don’t tell Babs I’m in town yet. I’m going to stop by later. This was closer,” Luke raises his hands in surrender. Dick laughs before   
heading into the hallway. He stops by the door just out of sight. He hears Kate.

“What was he doing here? I thought he left Gotham years ago. Like before he turned eighteen,” Her voice is a furious whisper that’s not very quiet.

“He’s an officer at the BPD. With Alice wreaking havoc, and the GCPD needing to step up, they sent over someone more experienced,” 

“What’s a pretty boy like that got that they would send him,” Dick’s curious to see how Luke answers. It’s obvious that Kate doesn’t think much of him. 

“He worked Bludhaven while it had a worse crime rate than Gotham, and he was at the GCPD during the criminal uprising that happened when Batman went missing for a few weeks the first time. He has more experience with the worst of the worst than most of the force combined,” 

“Really?” There’s a brief pause, “I want you to pull up his file. I want to know all about him,” This is what he was waiting for. 

“I can’t do that,” 

“Why not?” 

“That person that was just in here was Bruce Wayne’s eldest,”

“So what?” He can imagine her arms moving in the gesture.

“So what is the fact that he is technically my boss. His brother is the CEO of Wayne enterprises. If Bruce dies that is the man that will take care of the affairs. The so what, is the fact that you do not have clearance to his file,” He hears her growl.

“Really?” He prepares to step in if he has to, but then he hears her sigh. “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll ask Sophie,” He knows where Luke’s alliances lie, and that was all he wanted. He heads towards the elevator and back to the penthouse. There’s a small grocery Market between Wayne Enterprises and the Penthouse that he stops at. He doesn’t grab much, but it’s enough so he’s not constantly eating out. He resigns himself to spending another night in the penthouse. He should look into the apartment’s Kate is renovating. They’re outside the Crows district, and if he does end up suiting up that would be the safest place. Batwoman generally stays in the more central area of the city. She has a bike, but doesn’t go very far. He doesn’t want to risk her trying to drag him back in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dick has now met Kate. Love to hear what you think of their interaction. Next weeks update is going to shake things up a bit.   
> Please Comment and Kudos. I love to hear what you think and where you think everything is going.


	5. Crisis on Infinite Earths

Crisis on Infinite Earths’- 6 Months earlier

Once it was confirmed that the Batman was real, Oliver did some digging. Well, Felicity did some digging. What he found shocked him. It wasn’t just Batman that existed in Gotham. There were multiple heroes. Robin, Nightwing, Red Robin, Batgirl. It wasn’t just them either. There were heroes years before he took the mantel of Arrow. None of them appear to still be active, except Nightwing. He read dozens of reports and articles almost in shock by what he saw. The crazies in Gotham created a different level of horror. 

There wasn’t much video footage out there, but he watched what little he could find. He was shocked at their skill. They could give him a run for his money. He would love to speak with them and ask them questions about what they do, but that was the problem. Batgirl disappeared before he ever put on the suit. Robin and Batman disappeared around the same time a few years later. Red Robin fell off the face of the earth about a year after that, and Nightwing moved back to Bludhaven. He was the only one that could possibly be contacted, but the reports did not sound promising. He used to be the most friendly of the group, but after Batman’s disappearance he became more violent. He wasn’t as talkative, but he never killed. Oliver would have to take his chances.

With crisis approaching he needed to talk with him. Right now Oliver was the most experienced hero. Oliver trusted the team, but he wanted to know there was someone who had experience and a solid moral compass that could be called upon if needed. While Nightwing hasn’t been around as long as Batman, they worked together, and the man has two years experience on Green Arrow. At the very least he wants to meet the man. He wonders how close Batman’s group is to his. He has a ton of questions he wants to ask.

He doesn’t tell the team about his trip to Bludhaven. While it’s not as bad as it used to be, it is still a crime ridden city, and he doesn’t want his team worrying. He suits up and takes to the rooftops. He doesn’t see the attack coming. Before he has a chance to retaliate he is on the ground with his arm twisted. He can feel how tight his arm is. He tries to escape, only for the grip to shift and his arm tighten even more. Something is digging into his back, and his body is twisted so his legs can’t get any traction. 

“What are you doing here?” The voice growls and tightens it’s hold on his arm.   
“I just want to talk. I’m not looking for a fight,” He doesn’t risk moving, not wanting to risk breaking his arm.

“You came into my territory. That’s asking for a fight,” The words are gruff, but the grip loosens minutely. 

“I didn’t know how else to reach you. Though I’m glad I wasn’t hopping rooftops for days,” All he receives in response is a grunt. Without warning the grip is released. Oliver is instantly on his feet, but his attacker is already several feet away. His arms are crossed and he’s staring ready for a fight. “I’m supposed to die in a few months,” He waits for a response, but only receives more staring. “I did some research,” At this he receives a scoff.

“And I suppose you think you know all about me,” Oliver shrugs his shoulders, but decides that continuing is his best option.

“Not necessarily, but you’ve been doing this longer than me. Even if that is only two years,” He’s cut off with a laugh. It’s short, and Oliver feels like he’s missing the joke. 

“Only two years?” Nightwing’s tone is an eyebrow raise, “I’ve been doing this twenty years,” Oliver freezes for a second. This isn’t just some vigilant that works with Batman. He has almost the same amount of experience as the original. Oliver was still a teenager when this guy was on the streets. “Why are you here?” 

“I’m here to ask you to look after my team when I’m gone. You have the most experience out of everyone. I’m not asking you to babysit, but if they’re out of their depth I want them to have someone they can call,” Nightwing is silent for a while. He hopes that this will be it. That they can walk away from this as friends.

“I work alone,” He can’t help but scoff. 

“I used to say the same thing. Then I got a team. People to watch my back and trust,” Nightwing lets out another short laugh.

“I tried the team thing. That’s why I work alone. Now, get out of my city,” Oliver goes to protest, but the man is gone. He lets out a frustrated sigh. He made the offer, and that is the most he can do. Start City needs him, and he can’t be chasing a vigilante that doesn’t want anything to do with him. He can only hope that his offer is taken seriously.

***

Dick does not want to be dragged back into superhero teams. They have survived this long without his help. They can keep doing that. He has Bludhaven, and that is all he needs. It’s not his job to keep up with Oliver’s gang of heroes. He had his own team with the Titans before they went their separate ways. His family fell apart at the seams. He used to love teaming up. Even when everyone else didn’t want to be there, he pulled them together but not anymore. It wasn’t worth it. If Oliver wasn’t there he was sure Barry would step up. The man had great potential when Dick was still keeping up with those kinds of things. He’s sure the Flash would be a great leader to whoever is on the teams. As long as that person wasn’t Nightwing, he didn’t care. That wasn’t what Oliver was asking though. He knows what Oliver was asking. It was a reasonable request too. He was just supposed to be a last option. Not a leader, not a guide, or a babysitter, but he would give a little bit of advice from time to time. He growls at himself. He didn’t want to get involved. He refused to, but he could give little bits of advice. As long as they don’t start hounding his doorstep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late. With Mother's day, the day got away from me.   
> We have now entered Crisis! Who's excited?   
> I'll be honest. I was not originally planning to do crisis, but it crept up on me, and it was a great way for Dick to meet everyone. I really wanted Dick to meet Oliver, and the only plausible way to really do that was through Crisis. I'm excited to hear what you think!


	6. Crisis Part 2

Crisis Part 2

Dick was furious. Absolutely livid. He had made it to the penthouse after visiting Luke only to be greeted by a guy in a suit of armor and a cape. He knew what this was. He recognized this kind of calling, and he wasn’t interested. He had his turn saving the world. This time it was up to the new kids. 

“No. Absolutely not,” He was prepared to fight, but he had a feeling he was woefully underprepared. He wasn’t even given a chance to say anything else before he was blinded. When he could see again he was in the middle of a government building surrounded by the people he was trying to stay away from. All eyes were on him. He felt the comfortable weight of his mask and suit, but he was still on edge.

“Nightwing?” A man and a woman start approaching him, both wearing similar suits with an S. “It’s so good to see you,” She moves closer and looks like she’s about to give him a   
hug, but he takes a step back with his hands up.

“Do I know you?” She looks hurt and confused, but a woman in blue starts speaking.

“Kara, this is not the Nightwing of your earth. This is the Nightwing of Earth Prime. He has been brought here for a very specific purpose,” He swings around to face her. 

“I already said no. I know what this is, and I’m out. Not again,” Everyone starts to protest, but the blue woman holds up her hand.

“We recognize what you did with Trigon, and we thank you for it, but your services are needed once more,” He shakes his head, but Oliver steps up and starts speaking.

“Thank you for coming,” He sticks out his hand for a shake, but Dick ignores it. He takes a second to really look around the room. Kate is in the Batwoman suit. He had his suspicions when he went to the office but didn’t have time to confirm them. 

“Don’t thank me. I don’t want to be here,” He sees surprise on Kara’s face.

“Why not. The Nightwing I know-”

“Then get him. I’m. Not. Interested,” Before anymore arguments could be raised he turned to the woman. “Why just me? Why not the whole gang? This isn’t my team. I would work better with them,” 

“You would kill each other,” He scoffs.

“We might fight, but we know how to pull together,” He crosses his arms waiting for her to challenge him. 

“There is not time to argue this. You are needed,” He wants to keep arguing, but he knows the time restraints on things like this. He is here and not going anywhere. “Damian would want you to,” That lit a fire through every nerve in Dick. He started to feel more alive and more on edge than he had in years.

“You do not get to say anything about what he would want. You didn’t know him,” He takes a step back facing the entire group. “Now, I think it’s time you tell us what is going on,” 

He sits through the talk. He doesn’t say anything, but sits there taking it all in. Plans started running through his mind, though he wasn’t sure what they were supposed to do. They were told how the earth was going to be destroyed, but not anything about how they are supposed to fight it. After the meeting everyone started to go on their separate missions, but the other half of the group showed up. Flash, Ray Palmer, and, he laughs. 

“Sarah Lance. I’m surprised to see you here,” She glances up looking at him.

“Am I supposed to know you?” He shakes his head making his way down the stairs.

“No, I was pretty much out of the League’s eye by the time you joined. Didn’t get caught up with them again until after you left,” She nods her head, but he can see her tense.

“Then how do you know me?” He smirks relaxing more than since he arrived.

“I don’t. Not really. I know of you. You might now my family though,” She raises an eyebrow at that.

“Oh really?” He doesn’t say anything else. She’s thinking about it and hard. He decides to give her a hint.

“Tell Talia, Nightwing sends his regards,” Finally it clicks and she’s staring at him. 

“So the rumors were true? That Ra’s raised someone from the dead because of a debt, Talia had a son who was set to become the heir, but Ra’s wanted someone else. A different son from the same family?” Her voice was sharp, and she was boring her eyes into him as though she could pull the secrets out. He just smirked in response. “So which are you?”   
That only caused his smile to go wider. 

“None of them. I was the first. Was on pretty good terms with the League until Ra’s was killed. Talia and I had a,” He thinks of how to describe it. War would be a good descriptor of what tore through the streets of Gotham. “Disagreement. I put her in Slabside shortly after. Told her if we ever crossed paths again I wouldn’t be as kind,” Sarah nodded her head. Her lips were turned in a smile.

“Impressive,” Oliver decided to join their conversation at that.

“You’re the one that put Talia in Slabside?” He nodded. “Why?” He stares at Oliver. 

“Really?” Oliver waves his hand.

“I know she’s a killer, but you said you’ve had run ins with her years before. Why now and not then?”

“She crossed a line. A line that there is no redeeming someone from. She deserved to rot in there for the rest of her miserable life, but she escaped,” 

“I helped her,” Dick has great patience. It’s how he was able to have Damian as his Robin. It’s how he was able to handle dealing with Beastboy and Cyborg when they wouldn’t do   
their chores, but at Olivers words. Dick lashed out and punched the man in the face. It wasn’t hard enough to do anything but bruise, but it made him feel better.

“Why would you help a monster like that get out?” Sarah got between them, but it didn’t make a difference. He wasn’t going to go after Oliver anymore, but he was going to get answers.

“Did you hears about level 2? What they did to their prisoners?” Dick did hear about that. Blackgate received a few transfers after that incident. 

“I did. Talia deserved everything she got in there,” Bruce would hate him for saying that, but it doesn’t matter. She did.

“No one deserves that kind of treatment,” Olivers voice was getting louder, and Dick’s was starting to match. 

“A murderer like that does. Especially when they kill their own kid,” That causes both Oliver and Sarah to step back in shock. “She created a monster and waged war on Gotham. He wasn’t supposed to be fighting, but he saw how overwhelmed everyone was. I was fighting and got knocked down. I was about to be killed when he stepped in. We got separated, but I still saw it. I could hear him begging for Talia to save him. To not do it, but she gave the order anyways. Her monster stabbed her son through the heart,” He was breathing heavily. There was no reason to give that much information, but it came out. He needed them to understand what a horrible person Talia was. He took a few deep breathes calming down. They had a universe to save. Personal grievances could not get in the way of that, “Let’s go catch up with the others. Now is not the time to be missing information,” He walks off back towards the group. He’s back in the game for this. He might as well make it worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Dick is thrown into so much he doesn't want to be in. Please comment and let me know what you think of the chapter. We're meeting the rest of the Arrowverse which is exciting! How will Dick react to everyone?  
> Please comment and kudos!


	7. Crisis part 3

Crisis Part 3  
Dick did not like the situation. They didn’t have basic information, and what little they did was no help. While Sarah went to get Johnathan he went with the others to scope out where they would be fighting. He tried to talk with Harbinger, but she always disappeared before he could say anything. He checked his gear seeing what he had. He had all of his regular gear, but he knew that wasn’t enough for what was coming. If it was going to be an army they needed more serious power than what they had. Trying to get anyone to talk to him was like pulling teeth. They were all focused on their separate missions. He understood the importance of that, but if this was as big as everyone claimed they needed to be preparing for the army and evacuation first. Everything else could come later.   
While the supers were helping to evacuate people a group of them went to scope out their terrain. It was an old abandoned building surrounding the quantum tower. Harbinger said it was a temporary solution, but if they could protect it they can get everyone off of earth. Dick still wasn’t sure why they weren’t calling in more reinforcements from alternate earths, but he would have to make do. Looking over the building he saw several spots to set traps. It wouldn’t do much, but it might help in the long run. He turns to the two archers of the group.  
“Do either of you have a metal line?” Oliver’s daughter, Mia, nods.  
“Grapheling line, yes,” He nods expecting that.   
“Okay I need you to follow me. We’re going to lay some traps and take out the stragglers,” He takes off in a run before climbing up the wall and standing on a beam. Mia was able to follow a little ways, but some of the handholds were to steep, and the beam he was standing on was more of a tightrope. He surveys the area deciding the best place to set the trap. He started seeing wrath like creatures flying around the building. They only had a few seconds. “Anchor your line before shooting that pole over there,” She nodded making the shot just as the windows break. “Go,” She hesitated for a second looking at him before getting off her perch and going over to Oliver. He flips onto her perch and waits. There are shadow monitors everywhere. He grabs his escrima sticks lighting them up. And sets them to the cord. Electricity races through the cord sparking off of it. That alone is able to catch a couple dozen. As soon as a chunk of them turn into dust he is flipping off the beam and into the fray. He ends up back to back with the other heros.  
“When she said army, I thought she meant one army. This is more like ten,” Dick grins as he flips over a shadow wrath and grinds his escrima sticks into it.  
“A team of superheros against ten armies? Better than my usual odds,” He pulls out a wingding flinging it through the air into a group of the wraths. It blows up causing a few more to disappear.   
“What kind of odd’s are you usually against?”   
“Everyone get down,” He dives behind some concrete support beams looking towards the other heros. Batwoman gets a charged batarang and he jumps out from behind his beam as she and Oliver start attacking. The supers arrive to help starting to turn the tide slightly in their favor. In the middle of their fight the sky’s start to darken. Dick takes a deep breath. He forgot what fighting with such high stakes feels like.   
He didn’t get a choice when he was teleported away. One moment he was on the roof fighting, and the next he was in a bunker. The Monitor appeared with Oliver. He was beat up and bloody. He stayed out of the way as loved ones gathered around him. Anger started coursing through him. This is why he got out. He was tired of dealing with the death. The pain. Jason, Donna, Bruce, Damian, it was never ending. He was sick and tired of it.   
“This wasn’t what I forsaw. Things are changing,” He turns to face the Monitor at those words. The entire situation becoming to much.   
“So you knew those shadow demons were coming. Instead of calling in reinforcements like I suggested you thought you knew best. If you would have given me any warning before you kidnapped me, I could have prepared,”  
“If you do not know what’s coming you prepare for everything,” He scoffs.  
“My mentor was the most paranoid person on the planet. I’m already prepared for everything. No, you think you know what to do, but you’re just as blind as the rest of us. You have no idea what you are doing and it shows,” Everyone stared as his voice started to rise. He shook his head walking deeper into the bunker. He needed to cool off, and get his head on straight. Going from no stress to a high stakes mission is never a good idea. If he was going to continue he needed to think this through.   
He starts with sending a text to Jay and Tim. He doesn’t expect to reach either of them, but they deserve to know the world is about to end. The number he has for Jay responds back as disconnected. He doesn’t waste his energy on being surprised. Tim’s text goes through, but is not answered. There’s nothing Dick can do about that. He’s tempted to find the training equipment, but knows he needs to save his strength. He hasn’t been in an intense fight since putting Talia away. He wouldn’t risk pushing himself if he doesn’t have to. That could make a difference later. What he needs to do is find where everyone is, and what the next move is. This can not derail them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! I haven't been feeling well. Hope you enjoy, and comments create inspiration, so let me know what you think!


	8. Crisis Part 4

Crisis Part 4

Their next move was a treasure hunt. Lead by the Monitor. On a time ship. Dick just rolled with it. It was by no means his favorite plan, but it was clear that he was not here to give any advice. 

“Hey,” Kate walks up to him. His mask was still firmly in place, and he had no intention of removing it until he was back at the penthouse. 

“Hey,” He turns to face her.

“Are you coming with me to help get Batman?” Before he has a chance to answer the Monitor is intergetting. 

“You are not needed on the mission to find the paragon of courage,” He is really tempted to argue. He has so many reasons to, but he doesn’t. He just shrugs his shoulders  
turning back to Kate.

“I hate to agree with him, but he’s probably right. Bruce and I are more likely to get into a fight than do any convincing,” He thinks of the distance between him and his Bruce. The fact that they haven’t talked for three years, or the fact that this isn’t the first time it’s happened. He grins trying to lighten the mood a little. “Plus, I’m sure I have some other super important mission I have to go on,” He doesn’t believe it, but it’s easy to fall back on reassuring leader. He leaves her to go on her mission and starts heading down the hallway. That’s when he overhears it. 

“Barry and I are going to use the Lazarus pit to bring my dad back,” He quickly goes into the main lobby. He sees Sarah and Mia standing over a monitor.

“That is a horrible idea,” Mia whirls around glaring at him.

“What do you know? I was told everything I needed to know about the pit,” He does his Batman growl, which causes her to take a step back.

“You know nothing about the effects of the pit. If you use it you will not be getting your father back. You will be getting an imitation of him. I saw as Ra’s grew more insane through constant use of the pit, how it drove Talia to loose all her humanity,” 

“Why don’t you back off unless it’s you dad,” She started to walk off, but he moved in front of her.

“I did, and that’s how I know,” Both Sarah and Mia stop to stare at him. 

“My,” Dad wasn’t the right word, “Mentor, was killed in an explosion while dealing with an off world threat. I tried to raise the body using a Lazarus pit. He almost killed Robin,” He let Red Hood get in his head. It was a stupid mistake. “He wasn’t the only one I cared about that had been effected by the pit. It still affects him to this day. Is that what you want for your dad? To forever be tainted with that anger and madness that the pit brings,” He thinks he gets through to her when Barry Allen approaches. 

“Constantine is here,” Mia’s eyes harden again.

“I’ll take my chances,” Sarah starts to follow.

“Sarah, you of all people,” She smiles shrugging.

“I turned out all right. If anyone can survive the affects it would be Oliver,” Their already to far gone to hear his response.

“I thought the same thing,” He groans in frustration running a hand through his hair. He hears a baby crying and starts to follow the sound. He find’s Mick with baby Jonathan. The baby is putting up a fuss, and the man looks hopelessly lost. Dick smiles moving closer. “Here let me help,” He moves closer grabbing baby Jonathan out of his arms and settling him into his own. He’s careful to avoid the ruff parts of his suit. He grins down at the crying baby starting to rock him. Johnathan starts to calm down when Dick scrunches up his nose and sticks his tongue out. Johnathan starts to laugh and Dick starts smiling again. He starts moving around the room, which looks like a kitchen, while noticing Mick is still there. 

“You don’t look like the kids type,” Nightwing shrugs the movement causing Jonathan to giggle. 

“It comes with the job. You don’t strike me as the type either,” Mick takes a swig of beer.

“I’m not,” Nightwing nods. 

“Got another one of those?” He typically doesn’t drink, especially not in suit, but no one’s listening to him anyways. He can afford to have one beer.

“You seem to have your hands full,” He laughs.

“I’ve had to graphel through the city, and fight while holding a baby. I think I can handle drinking something,” To prove his point he adjusts Jonathan to his shoulder. The boy seems to like it since he starts smiling at being able to look around. 

“In the fridge,” He opens the fridge grabbing a beer and popping it open. Taking a swig he sits at the table. He thinks of saying something, but decides he’d rather just sit. His companion seems to have no issue with this. They sit there until Lois comes to find them.

“We’re heading out to find the paragon. Jonathan doing okay?” Dick nods. He sees a small flash of panic flow through Lois before she relaxes and smiles back. He nods, before noticing he had a sleeping baby on his shoulder. He gave a small smile at the sight. She watches them for a second before steeling herself and heading back out the door. 

“Why aren’t you going with them?” He looks up at the question. 

“I’m not of any use to them. Everything I have to offer they want to ignore. I’m better use as a babysitter than I am anywhere else,” Mick grunts taking another sip.

“So writer?” He just shrugs. Dick doesn’t try to force it. 

They move into the lab. Dick hands Jonathan back over to Mick before moving closer to Ray to help. Last time he had to deal with anything related to time travel, his team was trying to find where time warp had sent Starfire. They waited for the teams finding the other paragons to arrive. He’s surprised to see a man in handcuffs. They put him in an invisible cell in the center of the lab. The monitor is describing the paragon when Kara storms in.

“Batman was not the paragon of courage. He was a murderer. He tried to kill Kara, before dying,” 

“Batman killed someone?” That did not track with Bruce’s record. The no kill rule was why he and Jason fought so much. Why him and Damian struggled to get along. 

“Not just one person, anyone who stood in his way. Anyone who he deemed a threat,” He nods. That sounded more like Bruce. It was what he always tried to tell all of them. That it was too easy to play executioner. If every life wasn’t worth saving, then who was. “You’re not surprised?” Kate sounded shocked, and a little hurt.

“No, Batman always knew that if he killed one person he wouldn’t be able to stop. He trained it into all the Robins,” Not that it stuck. Red Hood killed, though more sparingly than he used to, and two of the Robin’s had died. Bruce shut out any of them who broke his rule, no matter the reason.

“Robins?” Kate raised an eyebrow and he just nodded. “What do you mean Robins? More than one?” He laughs a little at that. It gains him some strange looks. 

“There were a few,” He is purposefully vague. They don’t know Nightwing’s relation to Batman. Don’t know that all the Bat prodigies are just one big family. Even if Barbara technically isn’t, she still counts. There is no Robin anymore, but he doesn’t want his cover blown. “I’ve been in the game twenty years,” He smirks at some of the scrutinizing eyes trying to guess his age. “There were superheros before you all showed up,” Before anymore questions could be asked the Monitor was speaking.

“I believe Dr. Palmer’s device is ready?” They all focus on the screen as Ray activates it revealing Kate as the paragon of courage. “Nightwing. I believe it is time I tell you why you are here,”

“That would be beneficial yes. Like, before you kidnapped me,” He heard Mick snort. 

“You are not a paragon, but you have a strong will and mind. Your unique background and skillset will allow you to read the book of Destiny. It might help us in defeating the Antimontitor,” Yay, he gets to read the book that’s could make his mind go insane. 

“Where is it? Might as well get started,” The book is handed to him, and he resists the urge to groan at its size. He never liked being grounded on missions. “Is there a place where  
I can focus?” Ray nods.

“The Library. I’ll show you,” He follows Ray into a library with a desk. He sets the book down staring at it. Ray is standing there watching. “I’m sure it will be fine,” He gives a tight smile at the optimist. He could feel the temptation to bring back Damian. To fix everything, but he can’t. He knows he can’t. Gotham would be worse off, and Bludhaven would be right behind it. Amy would suffer. It wasn’t his place to rewrite the world.

“I’m sure it will be,” He undoes the clasp and opens the cover. He expects something, but it opens without any drama. 

“Well that was anticlimactic,” He looks up at Ray, “Hey, I have to go fix the paragon detector, but if you need anything let me know,” Dick nods before turning back to the book. He turns the page not knowing what to expect. He reads the first few lines. He knows the language. It’s his native tongue. Romani, but his people were nomadic. The language was only spoken, never written. So, he didn’t understand how he was reading it. 

“Stupid magic,” He mumbles as he starts reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late. I have been sitting on it, because I have been thinking about where to go with this story. I have a few more chapters prewritten, but I am working on an AU universe, and that is my main focus. Now we have two options. I can wrap this story up pretty quickly, change the tags to focus completely on crisis rather than the batfam. Or I can continue posting the chapters I have, and work on the story in my free time posting what chapters I have left before it becomes less consistent. If I don't get any comments, I'm going to wrap the story up quickly, and focus on other projects.


	9. Crisis Part 5

Crisis Part 5

Dick stayed in the library. The book was fascinating. The stories within were unlike any he had ever heard before. It wasn’t just telling what happened, but he started learning about the people. Their motivations, and faults. The people lost to history whose stories were forgotten to time. He didn’t realize it at first, but he was no longer reading, but watching it play out. It wasn’t just one earth. He watched as each decision opened possibilities, and how each of those possibilities played out. He truly understands the meaning of infinite earths. 

He’s yanked out of the memories, and it leaves him dizzy. Trying to focus only causes the world to spin faster. Feeling an arm grab him, he reacts twisting his body throwing the person to the ground. It’s an automatic reaction. He’s been fighting people ten times stronger than him for years. It takes a few more seconds, but he can make out the world around him. Seeing the person on the ground, he makes out Kara. His vision clears a little more, and he sees Kate looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Standing up he offers a hand out to Kara. She accepts, and he rubs the back of his neck.

“Sorry, didn’t realize it was you,” Her facial expression doesn’t change from it’s hard look.

“I need the book,” Confusion comes over him. 

“Book?” She nods but starts to look concerned.

“The Book of Destiny,” He was reading. Right. 

“Why?” He feels protective of the book. Something about the way she’s looking for it sets him on edge. He moves his body between her and the book.

“I am going to use it to bring back my earth. I have to help them,” There are an infinite amount of universes. He has seen them. Universes with all kinds of people. He’s seen their divergence. Their beauty. The book is not to be controlled. It has a plan. 

“Kara, it could drive you mad. I can’t let you do this,” He looks at Kate taking a step back to remove himself from the conversation. They face each other preparing for a fight.   
When he thinks it’s going to break out, Kara steps down. She’s still angry, but she’s not going to try and get the book. He reaches for it planning on getting back to reading, but   
the voices from the main lobby draw his attention. He’s not the only one as Kara and Kate also start for the door. At the doorway he stops looking at the book. He feels the urge to grab it, but decides he can get it later. 

Heading into the main lobby, he sees Harbinger. Her eyes are glowing and everyone who tries to stop her is thrown aside. Before he can react a gold light is surrounding him. He blinks the light out of his eyes before looking around. He doesn’t recognize where he is. It’s dark and damp, but his gut is telling him something is off.

“This is the vanishing point, it’s outside of space and time,” His attention is drawn away from Sarah, when a sudden red light is cutting through Superman. They all watch in horror as he collapses consumed by the red light. When the light fades instead of Superman being there Lex Luthor is to the disgust of everyone around him. All Dick could think is not again. He did not want to go through being the only one left alive. He would rather come back after other heros fixed everything. Barry disappeared almost immediately, and no one else knew what to do. 

“You do not have any reason to keep a mask on here,” He turns to the dude standing with the group. 

“Who are you?”

“J'onn J’onzz,” He nods and crosses his arms.

“Well J’onn, unlike the rest of you, I like my identity a secret. So much easier this way. Plus, I don’t know you, him,” He points at a small guy that wasn’t there when he started reading the book of Destiny, “And he is not someone I want knowing my identity,” He points at Lex. “So excuse me if I don’t want to share my identity with people I don’t know, or barely know,” He walks off not interested in hearing the response. While he was worried about his identity, the mask was also a comfort. He has worn a mask for more of his life than not. When he was with the Titans, he never took it off except to sleep. They were stuck here, and he had too much pent up energy to wait around. He needed to do something.

As he kept walking he found a wide space with pieces of debris littered around. It wasn’t a gym, but it would work. It also had potential if they were stuck here. He rearranged a few items before running the course. It wasn’t difficult, but that was okay. It gave him a chance to really let go without worrying about immediate danger. He added in as many extra flourishes and flips as room would allow. His feet only ever briefly touching the ground before launching himself into a sequence of complicated flips over some of the debris. It felt nice. He hadn’t done anything like this since his early days as Robin. Batman never liked all of the extra flourish, and he really toned it down after Tim found out. He only toned it down further once he became Batman, and never truly integrated it back into Nightwing, though his siblings would say different. 

He finished his makeshift obstacle course coming to a stop with one last handspring. He was breathing hard and sweaty, but he felt better. More focused and centered. 

“And I thought it was impressive when you scaled the wall back when we were defending the quantum tower,” He had forgotten about that. It felt like ages since that happened, even though it had barely been a few days.

“Not much time or reason to get fancy with the wall,” He started walking around looking for more to add to his makeshift course. He wanted to get more hight when he flipped. 

“Didn’t know Bruce taught acrobatics,” Dick doesn’t deny it, even though it’s not true.

“What do you know about him?” He can see the question catches her off guard. She stands there for a second, and he thinks she’s going to snap at him. 

“He was there for me when my sister died. The first few months were hard, but it only got harder when my dad got remarried. They felt like replacements, and I didn’t want that. Bruce would let me hang out in his office during the day. It shocked me when I found out,” That brought up a question Dick’s been wanting to ask.

“How did you find out?” She smirks.

“I went to the office to get some security footage, when I noticed Martha’s pearl necklace was in the wrong spot,” Dick smirks. She noticed Bruce’s stinginess about everything being exactly where it was supposed to be. That loosened a little after Jason, but once all four of them were traversing the Manor, it became almost impossible for anything to remain where it was supposed to. He’s pretty sure Jason would move things intentionally just to mess with Bruce. “There was a weird panel the necklace went on. Once I placed it in its proper spot it twisted revealing an elevator. Luke tried to tell me no, but of course that only encouraged me more. The rest is history,” He nods his head smirking.

“So you use the bunker? I’ll have to give you the full tour sometime. Luke is great at running comms, but he doesn’t know how to use half the tools down there. Since Bruce wasn’t the one to show you the bunker, I’m assuming you don’t either,” Kate looks like she’s about to argue, but he keeps talking. “All of that is custom made, or has custom designs added. Most of the tools can only be used by someone who knows exactly how they work,” That seems to cause her to think. 

“How do you know so much about Batman’s operations? I had never heard of you before you showed up at the DEO, yet you say you’ve been doing this twenty years and know everything about Batman,” He finds a place to sit stretching out and puts his hands behind his head. 

“I’m stationed in Bludhaven. Have been for a while. My path has crossed with Batman’s enough that I know everything about him and the Robins. Comes with the territory. I’m also the second most experienced vigilante besides B man himself. We knew all about the other’s operations in case something happened to one of us,” He’s skirting around the truth and they both know it.

“I understand why you’re not walking around with your mask off, but I’m working in place of Batman. You don’t have to skirt around me like you do the others,” He lets out a snort.

“Kate, I respect you for finding out Bruce is Batman. You're idiotic for trying to take his place, but I’m in no position to tell you not to be a vigilante. However, that is not the same as Bruce telling you. I won’t stop you from being Batwoman or using the equipment in the bunker, but that is not the same as trust,” He can see anger in her features.

“I chose to be Batwoman. You have no right to act like you are letting me do anything,” He doesn’t rise to the bait. He just raises an eyebrow in response. Whatever she sees in his expression she doesn’t like and storms off. He just sighs slouching a little. 

“What’d you do to get that reaction?” He looks up to see Sarah Lance standing hands on her hips. 

“Told her that I didn’t trust her with my identity,” Sarah moves closer before having him move over so she could sit. 

“So, we’re not going anywhere anytime soon. What’s your story?” He looks at her and she laughs.

“I’ll go first,” He’s not sure what she’s trying to accomplish with this. He hasn’t been sure of anything since he was kidnapped from the penthouse. “It started when I chose to sleep   
with my sister’s boyfriend,” That caused him to whistle and she playfully shoved his shoulder. He smiled and settled in as she told her story. He heard all about Lian Yu and the League of Assassins.

“So let me get this straight. You are the Captain of a Timeship fixing anomalies, that you created?” She shrugs, but is still smiling.

“With a merry band of misfits,” He laughed remembering his own team of misfits. “So your turn,” At his hesitancy she continues, “You don’t have to give details, but a broad overview,” 

“It started when my parents were murdered.” He wasn’t sure why he was saying anything at all, “Was taken in by someone who taught me how to chanel my grief,” Pausing again he glances at Sarah. Her attention never waivered. He liked her. “I wanted to help people, so no one else had to go through what I did. I got justice for my parents, but I didn’t   
want to stop. I wanted to keep helping people. Later I started a team, but some things happened and we disbanded,” He thinks back to the Titans. They had a lot of fun, but soon after they disbanded the building was torn down. It’s now real estate development. He hasn’t spoken to most of the members in years. 

“Damian?” He shakes his head.

“No, we did lose someone which was the starting point, but it was more than that,” He almost doesn’t say more, but Sarah runs a band of misfits and maybe he can be a warning. 

“I was blackmailed into leaving for a time which really hurt the team, and soon after we lost Wondergirl. We were still holding on, but then one of our members had a past that caught up to her. We helped her, but she had to leave in order to keep the situation contained,” The team crumbled to ashes. The building literally destroyed. “There were only four of us left by that point. We were fine to keep going, but we didn’t have that kind of luck. One of our members was a refugee from an alien planet,”

“Refugee huh?” He smiles thinking of Starfire. He loved her, and every day he regrets what happened.

“She was royalty and had to go back. Her sister was taking over, and she needed to help her people. I was going to go with her,” He refused to let his voice crack. “I found out some information about her return, and I was unwilling to compromise,” He thinks he regrets it, but even now he’s not sure it would have been the best option.

“We all have missed opportunities,” He nods at that wishing for a drink.

“Yah, some more than others. After the team fell apart I headed to Bludhaven and set up as Nightwing. All of a sudden so much happened. My,” He thinks of Jason’s death. How he was in space with Koriander helping her on Tamaran when it happened. How Bruce didn’t tell him anything, and he found out from a newspaper. “Someone died, and it affected my relationship with Batman. A new Robin appeared, and I helped to train him. Then I was taking care of Damian. That caused some tension, and everyone ended up scattered across the globe. We came back together and were closer than any of us had ever been. There was still tension, but,” They were a family. Jason would come to the penthouse for dinner. Damian and Tim weren’t actively trying to kill each other, and even him and Bruce were civil. “Talia put a hit on Damian. After he died everything fell apart. I moved back to   
Bludhaven to get some distance. Batman left shortly after to find a way to bring Damian back. Haven’t spoken to him since. Stayed in Bludhaven and worked with the police to clean up the city. It worked for the most part too. Until I ended up here,” He looks at Sarah, and she looks so invested. He’s surprised. Only Amy has ever shown that kind of concern. She stands up gesturing for him to follow.

“Come on, let’s spar. That is the only appropriate response after heartfelt discussion. I mean your not in bookclub so it’s a requirement,”

“Bookclub?” He raises an eyebrow and she gives him a sad smile.

“Yah, the girls in my merry band get together and work through our issues and talk,” An image of him sitting with his brothers talking about their feelings. He lets out a laugh. Full body leaning against the wall laugh. Sarah just crosses her arms. “Now, don’t diss bookclub or I’ll have to show you why I’m the leader of the team,” He waves her off trying to pull himself together.

“No, it’s not that. Healthy coping mechanisms aren’t exactly a strong suit with Bats,” That is the understatement of the century.

“Come on Wing, I haven’t had a good spar in a while,” He smirks before getting in a ready position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and commenting. This chapter gives a little background to Dick's time with the Titans.


	10. Crisis Part 6

Crisis Part 6

When Barry returned it was months later. Dick spent most of it helping Luthor develop a non functional teleportation device. All of the electronics too broken to work properly. Shortly after Barry returned, Oliver followed, and he was being thrown into what he assumed was the speedforce. He arrived on a dark street with cars lining the edges. As he was walking he saw Slade and Oliver talking. Carefully he approached them, only to have both of them turn towards him on the defensive.

“Who are you?” It was Oliver. Dick wasn’t sure what was happening.

“Nightwing? What are you doing here?” He had no idea how to respond.

“You know him?” Oliver looked incredulous. Dick thought they were enemies, if what happened in Starling City was anything to go by.

“He kidnapped and blackmailed me into working with him,” Oliver looked so confused that Dick almost felt bad.

“The mirakuru had taken effect. I wasn’t in my right mind,” Slade looked genuine, and that freaked Dick out more than living with the man out of his mind had.

“Mirakuru?” Before he received a response, he was being whisked away.

The entire team was back together. Dick wasn’t sure what happened, but he was on a beach. He knew this place. He recognized it from reading the Book of Destiny.

“The Dawn of Time,” It looked so different from the end of the world. He bent down running his hand through the sand, but it wasn’t sand. It was particles that would turn into everything that made up the universe.

“Very good,” He stood turning to face Oliver. “You were brought here because you are paragons,”

“Still not too sure what that is,” Dick agreed with Ryan.

“You will hold the line. I will light the spark of the universe and you will fan the flame,” Dick still wasn’t sure why he was here.

“How will we do that?” Sarah was looking around as she turned back to Oliver.

“I do not know, but I have trust,” Dick figured it was now or never.

“Why am I here? I’m not a paragon, and there is no Book of Destiny to read,” Everyone looks between him and Oliver.

“You are the multiverse constant,” Dick’s confusion shows plainly on his face as Oliver continues, “Throughout every universe you are always confident, always kind, and always cool,” Dick scoffs. He’s not sure he’s any of those things. “You are a leader, and you unite people like no one else can,” Dick realizes they were getting into things that were well beyond his understanding. He wasn’t sure he believed Oliver either. The Titans fell apart, his family was scattered across the globe, and even being in Bludhaven was falling apart. He was willing to try though. To fan the flame to spark the universe. That’s all he could do. “That right there,” He startles looking at Oliver, “That is what makes you the multiverse constant,” They all turn towards the anti monitor. His shadow demons start flying towards them, and they fight.

They fight for their lives doing everything they can to hold the line. To let Oliver do his thing and restart the universe. They keep fighting until a beam is shooting into the sky. The start of a universe. It’s just as beautiful as he imagined it.

“The spark, but we need to fan the flame,” He hears the discussion, but all he could think about was the start of the universe. The goodness and the evil that will come. His parents and the Joker. He’s seen a lot in his life time. All of it started at this point.

“Someone who read the Book of Destiny and did not go insane,” He knew what needed to be done.

“Everyone focus on what makes you who you are. You are paragons. You are the pinnacle of something. Focus on that, and bring it to life,” Everyone nodded focusing on the spark. Something in Dick sparked. Something he hasn’t felt in years. He let out a laugh. It was joyous and belly aching. Everything was going to be okay. For the first time in years, he knew everything was going to work out. It was with this young group of heroes, who were still new. They were going to make a difference in the world, so he let himself enjoy this moment. He could feel their odd stares, but he just took a deep breath and smiled. “Everything is going to be fine,” Barry and Sarah rushed to help Oliver. Dick had a feeling that the man wasn’t okay. Knew that was the case, but Oliver came to him and asked him to help. Dick would let these heroes do what they wanted, but if they ever needed him. He would be there.

He wandered down the beach breathing in the air of a new universe. He wishes his family could see it. Raven would love it here. All of a sudden he felt a chill through the air. A smile was on his face as he turned coming face to face with the girl on his mind. The first thing he did was give her a hug. He was much larger than her now, and she molded into his hug. He eventually pulled back holding her by the shoulders.

“How are you here?” Raven didn’t look much different from the last time he saw her.

“Hell is outside of the multiverse, it wasn’t destroyed when the wave hit. I’m sorry I couldn’t help,” She turned her head down, “I didn’t have enough energy to keep my father contained, and I figured one apocalypse was better than two,” Dick pulled her into another hug relieved to see her.

“You don’t need to apologize. By keeping your father contained you are doing so much,” She was the one to pull away this time.

“I don’t have much time before the universe restarts and I will have to return, but I wanted to see you. I miss you, and everyone,” Dick doesn’t cry. Something he learned from Batman. That doesn’t stop his heart from swelling at seeing Raven again. “I wanted to tell you, that I’ve almost found a way to keep my father contained without me staying down there. It’s incredibly dangerous, so it will be a while longer,” He just smiles at her.

“That’s amazing, but I don’t want to lose you in the process,” Raven just gives him a small smile. Before they could keep talking he was waking up on the couch of the penthouse. He doesn’t get up for several minutes. He realizes he doesn’t get to ignore his issues. Even if he’s not in Bludhaven, Nightwing appearing in Gotham isn’t a first. He would stay out of Batwoman’s way. She mostly stays in the nicer parts of Gotham anyways. He did need to find an apartment, and there were some newly renovated ones outside the Crows district. That would be a great place for Nightwing to set up shop. He needed to make some stops first though.

His phone starts going off and he groans grabbing it off the coffee table. He glances at the time and date only for his groan to turn into a half scream. He saves the world and still has to go into work in two hours. He forgot how hard this was. He gets up and heads to the bathroom. While he gets ready his phone is playing the news in the background. No one is going to find him, because he didn’t reveal his identity. The universe restarted, but there is going to be some residual effects. Hopefully the heroes can take care of it without his intervention. He does a double take when the news mentions a giant Bebo? Marching through the streets of Star City. The situation has already been taken care of, but that is a first for Dick. Once he finishes getting ready, he grabs breakfast from a local bakery and goes into work like any other day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second Chapter in a day! Woohoo. I'll still try to get a third chapter out by the end of the week, but with my life being so hectic, it's iffy. Thank you for all the comments and support! I know this isn't as consistent as any of us were hoping, but I am trying. Crisis is officially over, and we will be moving on to more Batwoman/Batfamily centric. I was never planning on doing crisis, but here it is, and I like how Dick fits into the dynamic. It also puts him in a better mindset for what I want to do in the future. Thank you again for all the support! I look forward to your comments and thoughts on how you enjoyed this version of crisis.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 5

Dick kept track of how the heroes were doing after Crisis. Constantly checking the news for updates and ready to leave work at a moments notice. He started leaving to help with the anti monitor, but by the time he could get away they had taken care of it. He sighs. With the rest of the day off, he needed to make good out of it. The Captain wasn’t happy, but Dick’s track record and lack of vacation time, made it a plausible feat. He made his way to the library with lunch. It was a peace offering to Barbara, and he hoped she hadn’t brought her lunch. She always did enjoy a good greasy burger.

He makes his way into the library and to the front desk. A lady he didn’t recognize is reading, and he smiles as he gets her attention. She smiles back at him.

“What can I do for you today?” He leans on the counter looking past the lady, and trying to get a glimpse of red hair.

“I’m looking for Barbara Gordon,” The lady starts to stand up before looking back at him.

“Who should I say is asking?” He starts to bounce on his feet not sure how Barbara will react.

“Just say a friend. She doesn’t know I’m coming,” She raises an eyebrow, but heads to the back room to get Barbara. She comes back out and tells him it will be a second. He stands waiting, his eyes unable to leave the door. Finally, she is coming through. Her eyes find him and she stops.

“Dick?” Her voice is loud enough that it draws several eyes, but she doesn’t seem to care. He smiles before holding up the bag.

“I brought lunch. Hope you’re hungry,” She’s smiling, but he can tell it’s tense.

“Let’s go outside,” He holds the door for her as she wheels herself out of the library. It’s sunny enough to be considered a nice day. They make their way to a picnic table, and he hands her her meal. They eat in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time.

“I just got back in town. I was transferred to the GCPD to help deal with Alice,” She sits back looking at him.

“I’m shocked you came back,” That stings and she knows it. He had no intention of ever coming back.

“I couldn’t after,” He trails off. There was once a time where she would put her hand over his and say something comforting. Damian’s loss hit all of them hard, but that wasn’t now. It hadn’t been them for years.

“I know. I begged for your help because Gotham was going to hell, and you didn’t come,” There was so much anger and frustration in her voice. It only made Dick feel worse. He didn’t want to be here. In Gotham, with Barbara, but he knew if he waited to tell her it would only be worse. “I get why Bruce left, but we could never rely on him. That’s why we relied on each other. It’s why we trust,” She turns her head away, but he knows how that sentence ends. She hasn’t trusted him since Blockbuster. Because that’s where their relationship ended. He tried to make up for it. To get back into her good graces, but it was never the same. Him leaving Gotham for good did nothing to help that.

“It doesn’t mean much, but I am sorry,” Barbara stares at him, and Dick is sure she is going to brush it off. Tell him he was right. That it doesn’t mean anything. That it was to late. What she says instead shocks him.

“I forgive you,” He doesn’t know what to say.

“What?” She gives him a small smile.

“I forgive you. It doesn’t make everything better, but it’s exhausting staying mad at someone after years of not seeing them. I’m still furious you left, but you’re here now. Let’s start from there,” A weight lifted from Dick’s chest, and for the first time he feels like he can breath. Barbara doesn’t hate him. There’s so much he could say. So much he wants to say, but all he lets out is two words.

“Thank you,” He was so tired of being alone. Barbara wasn’t one to dwell on tense subjects however, and he could see her ready to shift subjects.

“So we have a new vigilante,” Dick bites his lip before looking up from the table to her.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” She takes a deep breath readjusting her glasses before nodding. “There was a world ending crisis that happened, and I got sucked into it,” She stares at him before laughing.

“You’ve been in Gotham less than three days, and got involved with a world ending crisis. Of course you did. What happened?” He smiles glad to have someone he can talk to.

“Well, I was kidnapped and told had no choice but to help,” Barbara puts her head in her hands.

“Of course your self sacrificing self couldn’t say no to a world ending event. You just had to help,” Dick shakes his head.

“Actually, I did say no. They ignored me. I mean literally everyone ignored me. Everytime I brought up an idea I was ignored,” Indignation crept into his voice. It all worked out, but he was still frustrated. All Barbara did was laugh. “I was taken to a parallel earth everyone dubbed as Supergirl’s earth,”

“So Bruce was right? There are parallel dimensions?” Dick nods before realizing Barbara doesn’t know who Supergirl is. 

“Supergirl is from Krypton. Her and her cousin survived it’s destruction,” Barbara was giving him a weird look.

“Are you okay? Of course I know who they are. Bruce and Clark are friends. You got the name Nightwing from Clark,” That doesn’t make sense. He got the name Nightwing from Kori. She told him of an old Kryptonian legend she once heard. She told him about the planet that was destroyed with no survivors.

“That must have been one of the changes,” Realization dawned on both their faces.

“Dick what happened?” He takes a breath.

“A wave of antimatter swept through the universe destroying everything. Me and seven paragons were sent to the end of time where the wave couldn’t reach us. We were stuck there for months before Oliver Queen found and saved us. We ended up at the dawn of time and had to restart the universe. Apparently some changes were made. Supergirl being on this earth being one of them,” Barbara just stared at him. Not liking the silence he continued, “I’m sure you are familiar with the new heroes around. Well, they have no concept of a secret identity. I was the only one not willing to reveal who I was under the mask. I know who Batwoman is by the way,” Barbara waves him off.

“Everyone and their mother knows who Batwoman is. Alice knows who Batwoman is,” Dick raises an eyebrow. “She doesn’t understand the concept of security cameras. I’ve had to go behind her wiping video footage constantly. If she gets caught, I don’t trust her to not to reveal Bruce’s identity if she gets caught. Even indirectly,” He smiles at her. He doesn’t think Kate would, but she is new to the vigilante game.

“Big sister is always watching,” They both smirk at Jason’s old nickname.

“Someone has to,” They keep talking like that until Barbara glances at her watch and almost shrieks.

“I have to get back in there. I’m so sorry. We need to get together again, but I still have work,” Dick nods leaning down to hug her as she continues back into the building. He tries to decide what to do next. He needs to talk with Mary and Jacob, but that will cause some complications. He also needs to put his Nightwing suit in the Bunker. Once he moves into an apartment he’ll take it with him, but he can’t keep it on his bike. Sighing he gets on his bike and heads to one of the tunnels that will bring him to the bunker. He can’t keep running.

As he heads down, the tunnel he chooses is closed. He’s surprised, especially since Batwoman is active. This tunnel leads to a high risk area of the city. He supposes she keeps it closed for security reasons.

“Nightwing B-02,” The cave system speaks before opening. He makes his way all the way down only to see the cave sectioned off. They only did this with guests. Help keep the secrets of their equipment and operation. He can’t get access to the display cases from where he is.

“Nightwing authorize open concept,” The walls start to raise providing him access to the whole bunker. He sees Luke partially freaking out at the computers. Making his way closer he stands leaning over Luke’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” He reaches to the computer typing in some commands to access the bodycam. He sees the heroes he was working with earlier. He even sees some he doesn’t know.

“Who was that?” Kate is practically growling. Before Luke has a chance to say anything Dick is speaking.

“This is your friendly Nightwing. Good job on Bebo and the Antimonitor today,” The camera starts moving away from the table. He catches sight of a warehouse.

“How are you on this line?” He roles his eyes.

“I have access to the bunker. I’m sharing the mic with little L,” That’s enough for Luke.

“I told all of you to stop calling me that, and Kate, I didn’t know he was coming,” Luke hits mute of the mic, and he can tell Kate is frustrated with that. “Dick what are you doing here?” Dick grins moving to where the Batman suit used to lie. He assumes it’s where Kate puts her Batwoman costume.

“I came to drop off my suit, until I moved somewhere more permanent. Saw everything closed off and you sitting with Batwoman, so I came over,” Luke faces the mic turning it off mute.

“Kate, everything’s fine. Nightwing already knew about the cave,” Dick raises an eyebrow. This was not the cave. “I’m going off comms for a little while,” He hears a grunt in reply. Luke turns comms off before turning back to Dick.

“A martian telepath stopped by letting me know everything that happened with Crisis. If you’re going to be involved again there’s some stuff I should tell you,” Dick nods but doesn’t move to sit down. He crosses his arms and waits. Luke sighs, but just starts talking. “Bruce knew Alice was about to do something, so he helped lure Kate back to Gotham. He wanted Kate to find the cave and become Batwoman, because Gotham needed hope,” Dick shouldn’t be surprised Bruce doesn’t trust him, but to hear Bruce ask a rookie over him hurts. “Alice is Kate’s sister. He knew she needed to be the one to stop this. He saw something in her,” Dick’s sure it’s the same thing he saw in all the Robins. “She doesn’t know about everything else. She knows Bruce is Batman, and she thinks that the closed off space is the Batcave,” He is going to be there when she discovers the actual cave. Even if he has to take her there himself. “You know how dangerous all of this is. She had no idea what a rebreather was when she came here. She will try to use whatever is available, but Bruce doesn’t want that until someone can train her with it,” He knows he won’t be the one that can do that. She has no interest in him. She made that very clear in the empty. Barbara could do it if she was willing.

“Nightwing authorize bunker babies,” The walls start coming down again.

“I can’t believe that’s what you named it,” Jason was the only other one who found it funny, but no one was willing to change it.

“I’m going to put my suit away, but I’ll be back to get it in a few weeks. Could you forward me the details on some of the finished apartment renovations you are doing?” Luke nods, and Dick makes his way back to his bike.

**Author's Note:**

> I have been watching Batwoman, and have been curious about what happened to all the members of the Batfamily. This idea came into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. Curious to see if I'm the only one. I would also love to hear what you think about it. Are there any specific characters you want to see? I have Six chapters written already and will be posting weekly on Sundays for as long as I have chapters.


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